Genius Playground

As the class president, he had to make sure everyone got into a taxi safely before heading back.

He lumbered over like a human cannonball, finally reaching the two of them and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

”Tonight was just insane.”

He looked at Cheng Mengxue and grinned.

”Xiaoxue, your timing was perfect! You have no idea what went down at the reunion. If you did, you’d understand why everyone freaked out when they first saw you.”

”Still... I’m just glad you’re back. So glad you’re back.”

Wang Hao was overjoyed, his face beaming.

”This is so great, it’s like a dream. Jiang Ran’s back to his old self and got into East Sea University, and it turns out Xiaoxue never died—she just came back from abroad.”

”We, our Iron Triangle... we’re all back together!”

Hearing this, Jiang Ran glanced from one of them to the other.

Wang Hao was right.

’If this Cheng Mengxue is the real Cheng Mengxue, then the long-disbanded Iron Triangle of World Line No. 1 really has reunited.’

Cheng Mengxue pursed her lips and lowered her head.

”Actually... I have a lot I want to say to you guys.”

”So do we.”

Wang Hao nodded.

”But it’s getting late, and we’ve both had a fair bit to drink. Besides, this isn’t the best place to talk.”

”How about we find a nice place tomorrow and really talk? Catch up on the last two years?”

Cheng Mengxue nodded in agreement, looking at Jiang Ran.

”I’m sorry, Jiang Ran. I just heard from our classmates what happened to you. If my parents hadn’t faked my death... you could have been happier and more... normal these past two years.”

”It’s all in the past.”

Jiang Ran waved his hand dismissively.

”Your family sold the house. Where are you staying now?”

”I’m staying at a hotel near the airport.”

Cheng Mengxue pointed in the direction of Xiao Mountain.

”Things didn’t go according to plan. I meant to find you two first, but I got held up. I had to rush over to the reunion as soon as my plane landed.”

”In a couple of days, I plan on finding my cousin Xu Yan and staying at my uncle’s place for a while.”

With that, she pressed her hands together, pleading with Jiang Ran and Wang Hao.

”I have to ask you guys not to tell my cousin about this yet. Something like this... it’s better to explain in person.”

”After all, I’m a living, breathing person. Just showing up is the best proof. It’ll make it much easier for her to understand and accept.”

In the end, Wang Hao and Jiang Ran hailed a taxi. They dropped Cheng Mengxue off at her hotel first, then headed home.

Throughout the ride, Wang Hao was practically vibrating with excitement, talking nonstop.

He was gushing about how happy he was for Cheng Mengxue, then periodically lamenting Zhou Xiong’s death, and on top of that, dishing out all sorts of gossip about their classmates. The constant noise was starting to give Jiang Ran a headache.

”Let’s get out and walk.”

Once they were back in the city, Jiang Ran suggested, ”I drank a bit too much. We’re less than two kilometers from home now, let’s walk it off.”

Wang Hao let out a boozy burp and agreed.

Even late at night, the streets of Hang City were still bustling. It was truly a city that never slept.

But Jiang Ran walked with his head bowed in thought, oblivious to the vibrant city lights around them.

”Hey.”

Wang Hao looked at him, confused.

”Why are you in such low spirits today?”

”Xiaoxue’s back! This is huge! I thought you’d be jumping for joy! But why are you reacting so strangely?”

”Now that I know Xiaoxue is okay, I finally feel like I can talk about the past two years. You were so depressed after she ’died,’ it felt like you were suicidal every single day.”

”Now Xiaoxue is back, the whole misunderstanding has been cleared up, and her parents are even doing well in the United States and are planning to move back to the country for good.”

”This is amazing news, so why do you look like you’re back in that slump from two years ago? What’s there to be hung up on? Just think of it as Xiaoxue and her family taking a two-year vacation in the United States!”

Jiang Ran shook his head.

”It’s not about that.”

He sighed, his thoughts a chaotic jumble, just like the crowds on the street. ”Wang Hao, don’t you think this whole thing with Xiaoxue is a bit strange?”

”What’s so strange about it?”

Wang Hao retorted without a second thought, ”Forget all that nonsense. The fact that Xiaoxue is standing right in front of us, alive and well, explains everything. It means she never died! It means that Tombstone was a fake!”

Jiang Ran stopped dead in his tracks.

’He remembered the black-and-white photo at the Jingshan Bamboo Public Cemetery... Cheng Mengxue’s smile, lost to time.’

”Is it possible...”

Jiang Ran said softly, ”Is it possible... that the Tombstone is real... and the Xiaoxue we just saw... is actually the fake?”

”Pfft!”

Wang Hao shot him a disdainful look.

”What kind of nonsense is that? You can have fake watches, fake clothes, fake makeup... but this is the first fucking time I’ve ever heard of a fake *person*!”

”Go on, tell me. She’s the genuine article. What’s so fake about her? How is she any different from the Xiaoxue we knew?”

Jiang Ran was at a loss for words.

’On the outside, she was 100% Cheng Mengxue. Every last detail was perfect.’

’And on the inside—her personality, her way of speaking, her intelligence, even the general feeling she gave off—he couldn’t find a single flaw.’

”Well, go on! Enlighten me!”

Wang Hao nudged him with his elbow.

”Tell me, how exactly do you ’fake’ a person? I want to learn so I can whip up a fake Liu Yifei for myself!”

”I don’t know.”

’Of course, Jiang Ran couldn’t figure it out.’

’Cloning seemed too much like science fiction, and it was strictly illegal everywhere.’

’Plastic surgery was even less plausible; the technology didn’t exist to create such a flawless replica.’

’And even if, in some wild scenario, there was a technology that could 100% replicate Cheng Mengxue’s appearance...’

’...what about the inside?’

’Her personality?’

’Those things couldn’t be so easily faked.’

’Everyone’s life experiences, their environment, their emotional history... it’s all unique.’

’Cheng Mengxue was Cheng Mengxue, the one and only in the world. No one could ever play her part convincingly, much less fool him.’

’And yet, he truly couldn’t find a single thing wrong with the Cheng Mengxue he’d just met.’

’But still, his gut feeling was...’

”I can’t explain it,” Jiang Ran admitted frankly.

”But... my intuition tells me she isn’t the real Cheng Mengxue.”

”You’re crazy!”

Wang Hao pulled out a cigarette and stuck it between his lips, scoffing at Jiang Ran.

”You’re just being ridiculous. I have no idea what’s going on in that head of yours.”

”Fine, if you really think Xiaoxue is a fake, that she’s someone in disguise, then isn’t it easy to expose her? Just ask her about the past.”

”There’s a ton of stuff from high school, with the Iron Triangle, that only the three of us know. And you and Xiaoxue were childhood friends; you must have even more shared secrets from back then.”

”If someone is really impersonating Xiaoxue, the most they could do is fake her looks. You think they could fake her memories, too?”

Jiang Ran nodded.

’That was his thinking exactly.’

’Whether it was cloning, a disguise, plastic surgery, or some other trick, they could never fully simulate the life Cheng Mengxue had lived.’

’So, during their walk, a plan had already started to form in Jiang Ran’s mind.’

”Tomorrow, when we meet with Xiaoxue, don’t talk too much,” he instructed Wang Hao.

He looked up at the dark, starless sky above the clamor of Hang City.

”If this Xiaoxue really is a fake...”

”Then tomorrow, I’ll prove it to you!”